Getting familiar with the format of HSC examinations

Past examination papers and specimen examination papers are not only great study resources for students, they allow students to get familiar with the structure and format of the examination.

HSC examinations contain a variety of question types to measure a student’s level of achievement and it is important that students understand the differing demands of different types of questions.

Allocating time to answering all the questions in the examination paper

To help students allocate their time across the entire examination paper:

• Suggested amounts of time to spend on various sections of the examination are provided.
• For short-answer questions in SC tests and many HSC examinations the space provided or the number of lines printed indicates the expected length of the response.
• All examination questions have their mark value printed on the examination paper.
• HSC examination specifications include an indication of the expected length of responses to extended response questions.

Guidance on expected length for extended examination responses

The expected length for extended responses (except for English Standard, Advanced and ESL) is now provided in the HSC examination specifications to give students an indication of how much they should write.